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Most domestic violence offenders released on a bond

MARK COLVIN: New research from the New South Wales Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research shows that the most common sentence imposed on domestic violence offenders is a bond.

Some domestic violence advocates say the figures show that the courts are too lenient and don't take domestic violence offences seriously enough. But an academic who studies domestic violence issues says tougher penalties and prison terms may not be the best way to deal with the problem.

Timothy McDonald reports.

TIMOTHY MCDONALD: It's the first ever Australian study into the sentencing of domestic violence offenders and it's found that most never see a jail cell and walk free on a bond.

The executive officer of the New South Wales Women's Refuge Movement, Catherine Gander says the penalties should be tougher.

CATHERINE GANDER: An unsupervised bond is what the research is saying is given in around, you know, over a third where there's been a breach of an AVO (apprehended violence order). You know, I don't think that's really what you'd call an adequate response.

TIMOTHY MCDONALD: Of course, many offenders do serve a custodial sentence. Those with prior convictions and those who have breached an apprehended violence order are far more likely to go to prison.

At the extreme end, an offender convicted of causing grievous bodily harm with a concurrent breach of an AVO and a previous conviction on a violent offence is almost certain to go to prison.

But Catherine Gander says the courts need to take a tougher line.

CATHERINE GANDER: Firstly, it needs to be a deterrent. And, you know, the safety of women and children need to be at the centre of any strategies and at this point we haven't even got to that base.

So I think it's important that we look at what are long term ways of addressing violence and violent behaviour and I know that it's a much higher chance of you receiving a prison sentence if you've previously had a prison sentence or you've breached a whole lot of AVOs.

But I guess when someone is in prison or away at least that woman is safe and I agree that we need to do more developmental work in this area. But, as I say, I don't think, Tim, we've got past the first base.

TIMOTHY MCDONALD: Julie Stubbs is a law professor at the University of New South Wales and an expert on domestic violence law. She says sending offenders to prison isn't necessarily the best way to deal with violent behaviour.

JULIE STUBBS: What we see is that those who are convicted of less serious offences and those who are first offenders typically get sentences other than imprisonment and those on the other side, who have a history of offending, who have breached an apprehended violence order, for instance, or have committed more serious offences, are more likely to go to prison.

That's as much as we would expect.

TIMOTHY MCDONALD: I guess on the other hand, you know, it seems that domestic violence is a very persistent problem. Does it suggest that perhaps a harder line actually does need to be taken against domestic violence offenders?

JULIE STUBBS: I can understand those who might go to that conclusion directly. But the complexities of domestic violence are considerable. We should also be a little careful in making an assumption that if we want to prevent domestic violence into the future that a sentence of imprisonment is necessarily the way to go.

Now the reason I say that is that yes of course sentences of imprisonment are appropriate in cases and they do offer the victims some respite but if we're thinking about connecting people with programs, with things that might bring about behavioural change, for instance, the prison setting is not always the best place for that kind of work to happen.

TIMOTHY MCDONALD: Julie Stubbs says she is concerned that Indigenous offenders are far more likely to receive a custodial sentence than non-indigenous offenders, regardless of the seriousness of the crime.

She says that may be because magistrates in regional and remote areas have fewer alternatives.

JULIE STUBBS: There's very little available often for magistrates and judges in terms of looking at connecting people up with programs and services so very often imprisonment becomes an option simply because of the lack of other options.

The second concern I have is that it seems that, for a large number of people being given bonds, those bonds might be without any form of supervision and perhaps without any connection to programs in the community.

So there might be a good reason to have a look at what's going on with the kinds of bonds people are getting and rethinking whether or not attaching conditions and supervision to the bonds might be more effective.

TIMOTHY MCDONALD: Julie Stubbs says given the general level of recidivism, the government should also consider new programs for prisoners convicted of domestic violence offences.